The Arab Awakening and Middle East Unrest

In Brief

In early 2011, uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt led to the overthrow of their heads of state and sparked a wave of protests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, now commonly referred to as the "Arab awakening." Brookings experts comment on the continuing unrest in the region, and its implications for relations with the United States and with the rest of the world.

Reuters - A masked man speaking in what is believed to be a North American accent in a video that Islamic State militants released in September 2014

Clint Watts explains why the U.S.’s current whole-of-government approach to countering ISIS propaganda creates implementation challenges to sustaining an effective campaign against ISIS online. He considers how bureaucratic processes and incentives in the State Department, Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and other counterterrorism institutions limit the government's ability to counter the Islamic State's narrative.

Research Activities

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